Traditional marker in Vietnam

The following sample essay on ” Traditional marker in Vietnam” .In Vietnam having beautiful thick hair is a traditional marker.

In Vietnam, having beautiful thick hair is a traditional marker of beauty. Nguyen Thi Thuy has hair that reaches to her hips, she takes care of it every day and it is one of her greatest possessions (Lebsack, 2018). Unfortunately, hair traders travel to rural areas and target women like her who suffer financially and are desperate for money, they take advantage of these women and exchange their valuable hair with a few dollars (Lebsack, 2018).

Human hair is a commodity that has been traded for centuries, many people may view it as a waste, but it is highly valuable in the market (Tarlo, 2016). It all started back in the 19th century, when young girls in France auctioned their hair in public and they were shorn on the spot as if they were sheep (Tarlo, 2016). Also, in the 19th century, hair dealers illegally cut 15,000 hanks of hair from immigrants coming to the US (Tarlo, 2016).

During the 20th century, Korea started trading human hair and they mostly sourced the hair from their own population, but when their wealth increased, they turned to Chinese women (Tarlo, 2016). Today, after China became wealthy, hair started being sourced from poor countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia and Myanmar. Furthermore, hair is also being sourced from temples in India (Lang, 2016). According to the grand view research (2018), the human hair industry is growing every day and is expected to be worth more than 200 billion dollars by 2025.

Get quality help now

Bella Hamilton

Verified

Proficient in: Catholic Church

5 (234)

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

The demand of wigs and hair extensions in the west is growing rapidly, but I hope that in the future, this industry will be banned and abolished. The human hair trade industry should be banned because it exploits people and it is hazardous to the health of individuals.

The trade of human hair should be abolished because it exploits religious individuals. A multi-billion-dollar industry is driven by religious sacrifices, colliding the fashion world with faith in an unusual way. Many people from different religions practice tonsuring, that is when they cut or shave off hair as a sacrifice to their religion (Karthikeyan, 2009). Catholics practice a ritual in which they cut off the hair of newcomers to show devotion (Karthikeyan, 2009). This act symbolizes that these individuals are exiting the chaos of the world in order to enter another world in which they fully dedicate themselves to Christ (Tarlo, 2016). In the 19th century, hair traders started sourcing hair from Catholic churches (Tarlo, 2016). One catholic church has stated that they have sold over a ton of hair that was worth ?4,000, in which none of it was given back to the Catholics (Tarlo, 2016). These religious individuals are devoting themselves to Christ, and others are profiting from them. This is considered to be highly unethical because hair traders are disregarding the religious commitment and are taking advantage of these Catholics. Tonsuring is also practiced in Hinduism (Karthikeyan, 2009). According to their religious beliefs, they shave off their hair to show gratefulness and respect to lord Balaji, because they believe that he will make their wishes come true (Karthikeyan, 2009). Thousands of men and women visit temples daily, in order to show devotion to Lord Balaji (Karthikeyan, 2009). Temples in south India sell the hair, and it is worth more than 450 million Indian rupees, none of the money is given back to the devotees (Karthikeyan, 2009). These Hindus are taken advantage of because the hair that they offer to their lord is sent to the fashion industry and turned into high-priced wigs (Biel, 2010). In 2017 alone, India made $26.3 million, from trading human hair (Workman, 2019). India is one of the leading countries to export human hair, it exported 32.4% of the total trade in 2017 (Workman, 2019). Hindus are being exploited and manipulated, they shave off their valuable hair, without knowing the worth of it (Biel, 2010). Most of them are living in poor conditions and are not directly being paid back the value of their hair (Biel, 2010). Human hair should not be traded anymore because it is unethical, it takes advantage of religious Catholics and Hindus.

Surprisingly, research studies show that the trade of human hair is hazardous to the health of human beings. Throughout the process of trading human hair, much of the waste accumulates in the trash, and when it is inhaled in large amounts it can be a direct cause to breathing problems (Gupta, 2014). People around the area inhale the hair dust and it causes them serious distress and pain (Gupta, 2014). Some people also get rid of the hair waste by burning it, this practice is witnessed in several countries (Gupta, 2014). When hair waste gets burned, it produces a terrible smell and releases toxic gases like ammonia, carbonyl sulphides, hydrogen sulphides, sulphur dioxide, phenols, nitriles, pyrroles, and pyridines (Gupta, 2014). Those who live around those areas inhale the toxic air and they fall into several illnesses (Gupta, 2014). Also, much of the dirt, filth and oil that is stuck to the hair rots and decays overtime and produces awful smells and growing bacteria (Gupta, 2014). The workers operating in this sector are being diagnosed with tuberculosis and respiratory tract infections due to this growing filth (Gupta, 2014). The trade of human hair is not only hazardous to the physical health of humans, but it is also hazardous to the mental health of many women around the globe (Carville, 2016). Many women and young girls have their hair powerfully taken from them without their consent (Aran, 2017). Qingwen Liu is a 14-year-old girl living in rural China, she is a shy young lady with long luscious hair (Carville, 2016). A hair trader passed by her village looking for virgin human hair, Qingwens mother decided to sell her daughters hair to profit from it (Carville, 2016). The young lady sat down anxiously, surrounded by the people of the village, the hair trader and her mother, she was then obliged to have her beautiful hair cut (Carville, 2016). Many people may disregard the extremity of the exploitation in this market (Aran, 2017). It is only hair after all, and it will grow back (Aran, 2017). Instead, I believe we must fight this issue, it is considered to a part of human trafficking because this trade is harvesting human bodies to gain money from it (Aran, 2017). The western world is taking advantage of vulnerable poor people, to profit from them and reach their desired beauty standards (Aran, 2017). The human hair trade causes many health issues, it physically and mentally disrupts human beings, the trade should be abolished as soon as possible.

In conclusion, human hair should not be traded because it profits from vulnerable people, and it negatively affects the health of human beings. This trade is taking advantage of a ceremonial act that is practiced in several religions, the hair that gets cut from these ceremonies is sold to factories to make wigs and extensions (Tarlo, 2016). The devoted individuals do not profit financially, they are being manipulated and used (Biel, 2010). It is unethical and unjustifiable to practice such actions. Likewise, human hair as a traded commodity, destroys the health of individuals witnessing the decomposition of the hair waste and working in dreadful conditions, they suffer physically and mentally from anxiety and stress (Gupta, 2014). Authorities should take immediate action and stop this commodity from being traded. The trade of human hair is causing distress to many individuals around the world, we are responsible in taking action against this unethical trade. I encourage and support everyone to boycott any human hair trade company.